in December of 1988 I flew my ferret Shasta in the cabin of a
Northwest Airlines plane from Memphis to Seattle. I was not sure
until we actually were given permission at the boarding gate
whether I would be allowed on with her.
  I had called and talked a lot with the local airline staff
before the trip. I arrived at the ticket counter early, with
Shasta, her rabies vaccination certificate, her current health
certificate, a small regulation-under-seat-size carrier and a
larger cargo-type carrier with food, water, and blanket inside.
  Plus I had a very patient friend along to help me carry all
that stuff and to take Shasta if she were refused.
  I tried to look confident as the counter staff told me the
air temp was too cold to put animals in cargo (we had to fly
through Minneapolis)...The staff went into a football-type
huddle, occasionally typing on a computer terminal, and finally
came back and announced she could ride in the cabin with me!
  Shasta and I had "rehearsed" her being in the little cabin
carrier for several nights before the trip. She panicked the
first time I put her in it--the thing went scooting over the
floor!--but after she'd calmed, she was rewarded. We did this
each night, so she was a perfect little lady on the whole long
(14-hour from door-to-door) trip!
  We flew back from Seattle to Memphis that December, and then I
flew her from Memphis to Seattle the following April, and we had
no further airline problems. Staff were welcoming, pleasant and
friendly each trip so I had to write a thank-you to the airline!
  Kate Pappas and Emmett Kelly  [log in to unmask]
 
May Cheryl & Lucretia be so fortunate!
 
[Posted in FML issue 0595]